Fate or Not
by thisonewillworkforsure
Summary: One-shot. When Cloud doesn't have the money to buy a sword at Kalm, someone else buys it for him. Clerith.


A/N: Hey guys. Another one-shot! The story takes place after Cloud talks about his past with Sephiroth. Enjoy!

Disclaimer- I don't own Final Fantasy 7.

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The party found themselves at the weapon store at Kalm. The Weapon store also was the materia store, but they were sold by someone at a different desk. The party marveled at the weapons, they were better than what they saw at Midgar. They were also more organized; the weapon shops in the slums had a lot of other clutter and junk around. Most of the weapons were made of mythril since they were so close to the Mythril Mine.

Cloud's attention was caught when he saw the Mythril Saber. It was stronger than his Buster Sword, he wanted to purchase it.

"How much for the sword?" Cloud asked the shopkeeper.

"1000 gil." The shopkeeper replied. The prices were also more expensive than the shops at Midgar.

"It's the most expensive weapon in the store." Tifa said before Cloud had a chance to say anything.

"I am sorry but that's the price. With more monsters in the mines, prices have risen." The shopkeeper said apologetically.

Cloud went through his pockets in hope to have the money but couldn't find a single gil.

"I'm broke." Cloud said plainly. Seeing Cloud's mood change from intrigued to disappointment made Aerith sad. She felt bad for him. The Cetra however had an idea, for she knew someone who did have the money.

As they walked outside of the shop, Aerith stopped them. "Guys wait for me, I have to check one more thing."

"Are you going to buy something?" Red XIII inquired.

"No, I don't have any money!" Aerith lied. "I just need to check something. Sit tight, I'll be right back!" She went back inside the shop while everyone waited outside for her.

Inside the shop she called out the shopkeeper. "I would like to buy one Mythril Saber please."

The shopkeeper looked confused. "I thought you guys didn't have any money."

Aerith had a mischievous smirk on their face. "That's what they think." Aerith slammed a leather brown bag of money on the desk, causing a clanging sound. There was enough gil to purchase the weapon with plenty to spare.

"Alright, it's a deal." Said the shopkeeper, he brought the sword out from its display and placed it on the desk. "Your boyfriend is a lucky guy."

This remark made Aerith's face turn red. "Th-thank you." She stammered. "Do you have any bows to put on it?"

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Aerith tried to find time alone with Cloud to give him the sword. She wanted it to be a present and see his reaction, but with nobody else around. She figured if other people were around when he got the sword, he may hold back how happy he was. The Cetra hid the sword all this time, making sure nobody knew until the moment was right.

The party tried to first go to the Mythril Mines immediately, but their advances were halted by the Midgar Zolom, a giant serpent that appeared stronger than anything they ever faced. Aerith was prepared to let her idea go and just give Cloud the sword so he can just use a stronger weapon for the occasion, but they decided to not fight the creature, but catch chocobos to outrun the Zolom on the way to the mines.

They arrived at the Chocobo Farm. All that was left was to decide on who should go out and get the chocobos.

"How about you three go?" Aerith gestured towards Barret, Tifa, and Red XIII.

"I dunno nothin' bout catchin' chocobos." Barret admitted.

"It's easy. And you have Tifa and Red XIII with you, it will be OK." Aerith continued, trying her best to convince them.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" Tifa asked.

"I'm still feeling tired from the Shinra Building. If it's OK, I want to rest right now." Aerith would've said anything to try to get them to say yes.

"Alright, then we will go." Red XIII agreed with Aerith's idea, much to the Cetra's delight. They left while Cloud walked inside the stable. Aerith couldn't contain her excitement with her plan falling into place so well. She grabbed the sword and prepared for the final phase.

She entered the stable and slowly walked towards the blond, who was leaning on a post. Cloud noticed the wide grin on her face. He liked seeing Aerith in good spirits but some of her ideas made him nervous. He moved off the post and gave her a silent nod.

"Why are you so happy?" Cloud asked. "And why are your hands behind you?" He finally noticed she was hiding something.

Aerith leaned in closer to Cloud, still hiding the sword behind her back. "You don't want to guess what it is?" She said with glee.

"Hmmm." Cloud held his chin, wondering what it could possibly be. He frowned at what he initially suspected it was. "Don't tell me it's another wig?"

"You aren't good at this game." Aerith giggled. "I will just give it to you then." She whipped out her hands, showing the sword. Cloud realized it was a Mythril Saber, the same model from the weapon shop at Kalm. Cloud's frown quickly reversed into a smile. He also noticed that Aerith put a red ribbon on the hilt, which earned a light chuckle from the ex-soldier.

Aerith gave Cloud the sword and let him hold it. The sensation of feeling a new weapon was something Cloud didn't experience much. He restrained himself from indulging in the joy he was feeling, he wanted to know how Aerith got the money for it.

"How in the world did you...?" Cloud trailed off.

"I had some gil saved up from selling flowers." She replied. "...It's a thank you, for getting me out of the Shinra Building."

"Thank you Aerith, but you really shouldn't have." Cloud felt guilty that she used her savings on him. "You should've bought something for yourself."

"If it makes you feel better, this is also for me." Aerith retorted.

"How?"

"Because I need to make sure my bodyguard has the best equipment possible!" Aerith let out a smile. Cloud tried to find some kind of response, but he drew a blank. Even if he did come up with something, he didn't want to risk her smile going away. He treasured her smile since he bought a flower from her when they first met.

But this did bring up something he wanted to tell her. He wanted to talk about what happened at the Shinra Building. He hasn't been able to talk to her about it before because they haven't been alone together since they left Midgar. Figuring now would be a good time as any, the ex-soldier decided to tell her now.

"Listen, Aerith..." Aerith blinked then looked at him seriously, prompting Cloud to continue. "I know you went with Shinra to save Marlene, I understand that. But just...take care of yourself alright?"

"Don't worry." Aerith cheerfully played it off. "I can take care of myself! They have been after me my whole life."

"I know. But, just try to watch yourself more." Cloud continued what he said before. Aerith noticed the adamant tone in his voice.

"You're serious." Aerith's smile widened ten times over and she leaned in towards Cloud again. "Would it make you feel better if you had me on a leash?"

Cloud felt awkward from the question, he backed away. "No..., but-"

"Then just trust me then, I'll be OK." Aerith cut him off, trying to reassure the blond. "I know sometimes it has gotten out of hand but you came for me. And I knew the whole time that you would."

Cloud noticed after saying this, Aerith's green eyes shifted from carefree to serious. The Cetra paused a moment before continuing. "So, will you keep being there for me Cloud?"

"Of course." Cloud quickly nodded.

"Then you have nothing to worry about." Aerith humbly accepted her victory. It was the umpteenth win she had over Cloud in arguing for her safety. She visibly returned to a cheerful mood "And now you have a new sword to make fights easier."

Cloud forgot for a moment that he was holding the Mythril Sword Aerith bought him. "Thank you Aerith." He also realized he didn't thank her earlier.

"Don't mention it!" Aerith smiled. The Cetra turned around and looked outside, her back facing Cloud. She stared at the sun-setting sky.

"Cloud...do you believe in fate?" Aerith asked.

"I dunno." Cloud shrugged. "I never thought about it."

"I thought you would say something like that." Aerith started. "I have been thinking about what my mother said, about me getting out of Midgar one day. If you didn't fall through the church, I don't think I would be out of Midgar right now. It feels like, all of these things are happening for a reason. So I am starting to think that maybe..."

Aerith then turned around to face Cloud. "Maybe we were meant to meet each other."

Cloud thought about what Aerith said. As he was thinking about her words, he noticed her emerald green eyes were centered on him, waiting for a response. What she said felt nice to him, he would love to believe she was right. It wasn't enough to completely convince him about fate. But if anything, it was indeed a start.

"I hope so." Was all Cloud said, but it was enough to put Aerith in good spirits. "Just don't mess with fate and be reckless, alright?" The ex-soldier said jokingly.

"Deal!" Aerith beamed. They both exchanged smiles before seeing the rest of the party return. They looked filthy, but they reek of the stench of success, for they had managed to catch three chocobos.

Cloud and Aerith walked towards their friends, but not before being stealing one more glance at each other. The bodyguard and Cetra knew their roles in their quest. Whether caused by fate or not, they were determined to finish their quest, together.

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A/N: And that's it! To be honest I have a bunch of one-shots that I have decided to not upload since I feel they aren't good enough, but I wanted to at least put one of them up.

But I will go back to writing "A Very Big If" Thank you so much for reading this! Hope all is well. Until next time, have a good one.


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